I love my TC Electronic’s Powercore. The hardware software solution has a sound quality clearly above most of my native plug-ins. A few of the Powercore plug-in’s such has TC Helicon’s VoiceModler I think are unique and personally indispensable. I really hope TC Helicon makes VoiceModler available in a native or UAD format.

“As part of a larger strategic review, we have decided to cease further development of the PowerCore product range, including hardware units as well as software for the PowerCore platform.” – TC Electronic

Jason Duerr the Director of Engineering at the Aimtron Corporation contacted me. His company build circuit boards for many of the companies on display at this year’s Namm. He let me know about a modular synthesizer module he thought was full of fun stuff. His choice was the Lunar Experience 569 Quad Sequential Voltage Source. I’m very much of the opinion that if you create electronic music you should own at least one hardware sequencer. Lunar has a YouTube channel here: youtube.com/moonmodular. Do you guy agree? Anyone know of Lunar Experience and used their modules?

“This was a lot of fun to use: Switch up, note on, turn the knob for your CV. Switch middle, note off Switch down, now it’s the loop point for all the steps before it!” – Jason Duerr

Audio Damage’s new synthesizer plug-in Phosphor is a recreation of an 80s synth called the alphaSyntauri that required an Apple IIe. Herbie Hancock and Keith Emerson both used alphaSyntauris. I remember seeing them but I don’t think I ever used one. I’d like to make a track using only Phosphor and Lindrum. Available now for $59. Anyone buying this one? Please let me know if you like it.

“Phosphor is a VSTi/AU instrument modeled on the alphaSyntauri, a vintage digital additive synth. The original alphaSyntauri required an Apple //e to operate, but we’ve gone ahead and eliminated the middle-man, and now you can have this classic digital synth in your DAW of choice.” – audiodamage.com

Check out this fantastic case for modular synthesizer modules from Tiptop Audio. It’s all aluminum, comes in black or silver and fits in the overhead luggage compartment in any airplane. $1100 with power supply.

Here’s a great video showcasing the newly released Doepfer Dark Time analog sequencer. To get close to the specs you can read the operation manual here: Dark_Time_Manual.pdf. Deopfer has possibly the best resume when it comes to making analog sequencers and their new release may look simple but it has a lot of advanced features.

“The brandnew DARK TIME is a fantastic analog sequencer. It has MIDI, CV / Gate and also TRIGGER IN / OUT for vintage sequencers or rhythm machines. In my opinion, it is much more comfortable than the Korg SQ-10, which I had. The steps run not just forwards – they also can run backwards or in random. Also a great feature is the quantizer – like on the ARP sequencer. In MIDI mode, the two rows can send at two different MIDI channels.” – AnalogAudio1

Are you guys planning on getting one? Or do you already own an analog sequencer?

Dave Smith Instruments Tempest. An all new analog drum machine. Awesome. If you listen carefully the demo goes from all the way from 606 to 909ish with some nice Simmons tom emulation and synth stabs. There are a lot of specs but does it matter? A lot of buttons and analog stuff. $2000. link

Avid Torq 2. I secretly always liked Torq better than Traktor. I don’t know why I’ve keep it a secret. It’s just more fun to use and I like the flat interface a lot. I’m not sure 4 decks is better than two. Can you say tiny things to see in a big display? The new Traq Morph feature “blends music tracks in exciting new ways by intelligently applying audio effects during crossfade.”. That could be cool right? Lastly, the software is decoupled from any hardware so you can use it stand alone or with any controller. $250 link

Akai Synthstation 49. I want my car dash to be an iPad. Just the same let’s make my keyboard interface and sound source and iPad too! It’s from Akai so a few MPC pads are included. This will win or loose depending on quality. link

Alesis Studiodock. Professional audio and MIDI I/O for your iPad. Oh… and composite video out. I’m getting very close to being able to play an entire live show off my iPad! link

Arturia Spark. I’m going to tell you right now that this new drum machine from Arturia won’t sound as good as the DSI Tempest. Your going to pay a lot less though and it does have a super fun TR style roll by sequencer. All drum machines are awesome. All of them. $600. link

Rob Papen Punch. I sense a theme at this year’s Namm. I remember it used to be work making killer electronic drum sounds, loops and patterns. Boy to kids have the toys today! If your not an analog purist Dutch Papen’s new VST punch could be of use to you. Will it compete with products like uToniq? Time will tell. link

M-Audio Venom. I wasn’t excited about a new VA synth. Then I learned the price would be $499. I also learned it came with a VST editor. The marketing hype is pretty good for the new Avid synth too. link

MORE UPDATES TO COME. I will be adding things I find worthy to this post as the weekend continues.

This is how it all begins with a little honest playtime. One of these kids will go home and dream of drum patterns. They will hear 808s on records and know where the sounds came from. They will realize how special that machine they played with was. One may become the next Hawtin. I started young obsessing over a TRS-80 Color Computer. When I hit my teenage years, fell in love and heard Depeche Mode it was all over. I knew my calling.

“During computer class some of the grade 3s decided to teach themselves how to program a 30-year-old Roland TR-808 drum machine.” – Selwyn House School

I have my iPhone hardwired into my car’s stereo. I love having the audio from my iPod, Last.fm or TomTom going through my speakers. It gets a little weird when I receive a phone call because for some reason that audio is different and I need to plug-in my headphones. Anyway, I’m always looking for something better and the O Car from Oxygen Audio looks really slick. I can’t think of a way they could do this any better. The iPhone becomes the stereo. You can even swivel to portrait. Now can I replace my entire dash with an iPad? Please?

“O Car is the only full-integrated head unit specifically designed and made for iPhone. Its patented technologies enable the user to control all standard car stereo functions using the iPhone touch screen, while allowing horizontal and vertical access, so that all iPhone applications may be used in the car: Listen to your entire iTunes music catalog, make a hands-free phone call or synch a Bluetooth headset, access your favorite iPhone apps for the car (GPS, Pandora, etc.), or listen to your favorite hometown channel on internet radio. The Car’s built in RDS tuner ensures that you can still listen to your favorite local radio stations and its 4x55W amp links to all of your car’s speakers to guarantee perfect quality sound. Meanwhile, your iPhone charges while it is clipped into the head unit. 3 FM bands and 1 AM band. 18FM and 6AM presets.” – oxygenaudio.com